


Just Dads Being Dads

by SwimyGhost



Category: Half-Life, Half-Life but the AI is Self Aware
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I might add frenrey idk, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Light Angst, M/M, Not A Game AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Second Chances, Swearing, Tags May Change, good dads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26244610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwimyGhost/pseuds/SwimyGhost
Summary: Being a single father is hard for Gordon, especially with the threat of his ex returning still haunts him. Although he doesn't completely know what he's doing, Gordon is trying his best. When he needs help, the form it takes surprises him.
Relationships: Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta & Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Comments: 44
Kudos: 223





	1. Long Day

Gordon’s day continued to grow worse and worse as time passed.

For starters, job hunting was a complete failure. Three possible workplaces had shut him down the moment they heard the words “Black Mesa” and with good reason. Black Mesa had only gone up in a cloud of smoke barely a month ago with government agents still crawling around the place so hiring anyone related to the dismantled company could easily have the FBI knocking on your door. Five companies had flat out refused to call him back on that principle alone. Gordon had considered not including Black Mesa in the former job section of the resume, but he had little else to put there. Gordon might have graduated with high honors at MIT, but a degree at theoretical physics doesn’t get you a lot of normal jobs. He was lucky to even have gotten the position at Black Mesa by his MIT mentor after his previous job in Austria provided him with little intellectual enjoyment.

But at this point in his life, Gordon couldn’t be bothered with the trivial matter of if a job made him happy or not. No, he needed a job for one person and one person only: his son.

Joshua, the recently turned nine-month-old, was the pride and joy for Gordon, which was why he was waking up at six and going to bed at eleven with the desperate need to find a job. Being a Wal-Mart cashier wasn’t going to cut it, especially with the rent piling up.

_I can’t let her take him again. I can’t._ Gordon thought as he attempted to settle down his crying son.

It was currently 2:37 AM and Gordon felt like crying himself. Joshua had always been a lousy sleeper with every little noise waking him up and turning him into a banshee, but tonight he would simply not go back to sleep. A sleep-deprived Gordon had tried everything to get his son to stop crying. He tried usual tactics, rocking in his favorite rocking chair, playing some old country music, pacing around his unkempt apartment, but nothing seemed to work. In fact, Joshua began to cry even _louder_.

“Joshie, _please_ ,” Gordon begged for the hundredth time that night. “We couldn’t afford to get another noise complaint, buddy. We have to be quiet, okay?”

Joshua disregarded his father’s pleas and continued to weep, leading Gordon to let out a whine of his own. 

After heating a bottle of milk, Gordon danced around the piles of clothes and junk that he had yet to clean up. He made a note to do so since his apartment was already tight enough and pushed the door open to Joshua’s room. Toys littered the floor leading to accidentally stepping on one of Joshua’s plastic toy horses. He let out a sharp hiss but just sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Gordon tried to get Joshua to drink from the bottle, but the baby swatted it away and let out a powerful scream. 

“C’mon, Joshie, please,” Gordon begged, trying again.

The same thing happened, causing the man to groan and slam the back of his head against the painted blue walls of the bedroom as Joshua continued his fit. Gordon closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He tried to compile his thoughts, but his mind was too bogged down with various random concepts he stopped before a major headache would start to spring up.

Suddenly, Joshua stopped. It took Gordon a few seconds to notice but once he did, his eyes shot wide open and glanced down. He nearly screamed as his precious bundle of joy was now a grayish-blue instead of his regular hue with his face still twisted in a manner that made it seem he was letting out a silent scream. Everything in the room appeared to be that color. Horrified, Gordon stood up and wildly scanned the room. There was only _one_ being that could do something like this.

“Doctor Freeman.”

Gordon swung around to see the man he was thinking of: The G-Man. 

The man was wearing his typical gray-blue suit with the maroon tie. His pale gray eyes made Gordon feel like he was looking not at Gordon, but his soul. He was unusually empty-handed, but that made the theoretical physicist even more disturbed.

“W-What do you want?” Gordon asked, pressing Joshua tightly against him. If The G-Man was looking for a fight, Gordon would easily sacrifice himself to keep Joshua safe.

The G-Man raised his hands defensively. “Relax, Mr. Freeman. I was just… _Curious_ about your current living situation.”

The awkward stutters and pauses in his dialogue only exacerbated Gordon’s anxiety.

“Well… You’ve seen it. Can you use your uh… Magic to unfreeze time. I have to get back to…” Gordon motioned towards his son.

The G-Man rolled his eyes and took a couple of strides forward towards the father. “Please, Mr. Freeman. Magic is such a… Juvenile phrase for my abilities. I simply made the effort to ensure our privacy during this uh… _Chat_ we’re currently having.”

“That’s nice… Mr. Coolatta.” Gordon wasn’t sure if that was too formal but he just wanted for the bureaucrat to leave. “I _really_ do need to get Joshua to bed so I can-”

“Spend another day hopelessly scavenging for another job. My dear Tommy has told me _all_ about it. Really, Mr. Freeman, isn’t the government money enough for you? Perhaps you wish to possess even more wealth, hm?”

Gordon frowned. “It’s not for me it’s for him.”

The G-Man glanced down at his son. Gordon was frightened that the seven-foot-tall man would try to harm Joshua. Instead, his passive face shifted into concern.

“Isn’t your progeny… Nine months old.”

Gordon wasn’t even going to question how The G-Man knew. He could only guess that Tommy had told him. “Yeah, it’s just… Joshua has always been a horrible sleeper.”

The G-Man didn’t respond. He chose to instead stand up straight and adjust his tie. The gray and blue faded away and were replaced with the regular darkness of the night. Joshua’s cries once again returned, causing Gordon to wince and try to grab the bottle he had stranded on the chair. However, The G-Man had stopped him.

“May I?”

It took Gordon to realize he was talking about Joshua. He shifted his son away from the man.

“What do you want with him?” Gordon asked with a touch of distrust in his voice.

“He’s been crying for a while… I can tell. I’m able to help you if you desire.”

Gordon wasn’t too sure but he had run out of options. Despite every fiber in his being screaming ‘no’, the father passed his son over to The G-Man. As if muscle memory, The G-Man used one arm placed under Joshua to stabilize him, and the other laid across his back. He rested the boy’s head in the dip between his collarbone and shoulder. Gordon watched in complete amazement as the bureaucrat launched into a soft hum. He swayed side to side as he continued to hum into Joshua’s ear.

At first, Joshua seemed completely disinterested in The G-Man’s song; however, as time passed, his screams turned to snores. The G-Man continued for another minute before he passed the baby to a still gaping Gordon.

“H-How,” Gordon stuttered, “w-what was-”

“Tommy was the _worst_ sleeper as a baby.” The G-Man explained, adjusting his tie once more. “I learned that was the… _Only_ way to calm him down.”

Gordon remained stunned but turned his attention away from his guest and towards his newly peaceful son. “Th-Thank you, Mr. Coolatta.”

The G-Man didn’t respond. Instead, he peered around the room and out into the hallway. “Your residence is a mess, Mr. Freeman.”

Gordon felt embarrassed. “I know. It’s just- I haven’t had time to clean since I’ve been looking for a job. I know Joshua’s babysitter tries but… She doesn’t feel comfortable going through my stuff.”

“You still refuse to give an explanation on why you desire a job.”

“... If my ex found out that I didn’t have a real job, she’d take Joshua away again.” Gordon said after setting Joshua back down into his crib. He watched his son sleep with nothing but pure adoration. 

The G-Man tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure I understand. You _are_ employed at the multi-billion dollar retail chain, correct?”

The man let out a soft chuckle. “I’m a cashier, dude. I meant a real job… Like I had a Black Mesa.”

“But Black Mesa-”

“Treated me and my friends like shit, I know,” Gordon groaned. “I don’t mean a job _exactly_ like Black Mesa, God no. But I want something… Real, you know.”

The G-Man didn’t reply. He chose to give a curt nod towards Gordon before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. Gordon wasn’t phased by the man’s disappearance nor the fact the eye-straining brightness didn’t affect his son. What did surprise him was how _gentle_ and caring he was with Joshua. 

_I guess Tommy really did get lucky when he was adopted by G-Man_

A wave of exhaustion overtook Gordon and he trudged back to his uncomfortably tight room and passed out without even slipping under the covers. Although his conversation didn’t completely shock the physicist, what _did_ shock Gordon was the pristineness of the apartment. The trash had completely vanished and Joshua’s toys were neatly arranged in his room. Gordon could barely process what was happening before his cell phone started to buzz. He answered it with a stuttered ‘hello?’.

“Hello, is this Dr. Gordon Freeman?”

“Uh- I mean, yes! Yes, this is he.” Gordon mentally slapped himself.

“This is New Mexico Science Institute calling back to say you’ve gotten the job, Mr. Freeman. We’ve reread through your resume and decided that you are a better fit for our company then our previous candidate. You’ll start as a member of our Theoretical Physics team on Monday at seven AM sharp.”

Gordon was stunned. “I- Thank you, ma’am! It’s-It’s a great honor! But, uh, what made you reconsid-”

“See you on Monday, Dr. Freeman.”

Before he could say his goodbyes, the woman on the phone hung up. He slipped his phone safety back into the pocket of his sweatpants before doing a little dance of joy. This was everything and more than he could ever ask for. As he scrambled into Joshua’s room to check on the young boy, the man didn’t realize a pair of green eyes had been watching him through the window.


	2. Pot Luck

“So, I uh- I guess your son doesn’t look like  _ complete  _ shit.”

Gordon wanted to let out a better retort but between the heavy diaper bag swung over his shoulder and him cautiously carrying in the corned beef and cabbage he had prepared made it hard to think of anything better than, “Fuck you, Benrey.”

Benrey, still wearing his ridiculous security guard helmet, gave him a sharp tooth grin before peering back down at Joshua. The brown-haired baby had been sat on a spread out a blanket with various toys scattered across the floor. Even with Gordon’s repeated attempts at stopping him, Benrey had chosen to sit in the far corner to observe the boy. Although he wasn’t doing anything, Gordon was waiting with bated breath.

“Ah, Gordon! I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you sooner!”

Gordon had to stifle a laugh when he saw Dr. Coomer rounding the corner. He was wearing an overly pink and frilly apron with “Kiss the Cook” written in cursive on the front over a plaid button-down. The clashing of colors and style made Gordon’s eyes hurt but he was glad to see his friend. What he wasn’t happy about was nearly dropping the food he spent an entire day on after Dr. Coomer tackle-hugged him. His ribs screamed in pain while Gordon returned the hug.

“H-Hey, Dr. Coomer!” 

“Hello, Gordon!” Coomer smiled.

Dr. Coomer took the plate containing the food and walked back to the kitchen, leaving Gordon to take deep breaths to gain all the oxygen he lost from Coomer’s life-ending hug.

“Jesus, he needs to learn to keep his strength under control.” Gordon wheezed.

“Christ, Gordon, quit being overly dramatic!” 

The physicist turned to see another older man sitting on the armrest of a burgundy recliner instead of the actual seat. His knees were pulled up to his chest as he grumpily watched the room through his thick-lensed glasses. Gordon crossed his arms. “You have a problem, Bubby?”

“You’ve always been an agitated man, Gordon. You need to learn to live a little.” Bubby responded.

“Forgive me for being cautious.” Gordon retorted.

“That’s an interesting way of saying paranoid,” Bubby said with a smirk.

“Oh, come now, dear. Quit harassing our guests!”

Dr. Coomer had returned to the living room. He had walked past both Benrey and Joshua to plant a kiss on the top of Bubby’s head. Bubby profusely blushed and attempted to hide his face but Dr. Coomer held his head firmly in his hands. Benrey let out a high pitched cackle that could only be described as hyena-like.

“Bro, you guys are hella gay.”

“I’m going to burn you to a crisp.” Bubby threatened.

“Relax, dude. I meant it with mad respect.” Benrey turned his attention to Gordon accompanied by an even wider smile. “So, when are we going to have something like that, aye, Feetman?”

Both Gordon’s frown and headache steadily became deeper. “Never gonna happen. You’re lucky you’re even allowed to be here after all the shit you’ve pulled.”

“Hey man, I thought we all decided to forgive and forget,” Benrey said. “Besides, this is  _ their  _ party, not yours. You trying to be a rude little party crasher, huh, Feetman?”

“Uuh!” Joshua cried with a bright smile.

“See, even Feetman Jr. agrees!”

“Please don’t call him that.”

“Personally I think you’re trying to take over  _ my  _ house!” Bubby growled, sitting up straighter. “Making us clean up just so you can bring your…  _ Offspring _ .”

“You had vats of dangerous chemicals lying around!” Gordon argued.

Bubby waved his hand dismissively, “A little hydrochloric acid never hurt anyone!”

Gordon wanted to argue but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Everyone, even little Joshua, perked up at the sound. 

“Could you get that, Gordon?” Dr. Coomer asked.

“Yeah, no problem,” Gordon said, relieved he didn’t have to continue the conversation.

He walked to the door all while avoiding some of the printed out Wikipedia articles that peppered the floors. He opened the door to see the smiling face of his friend Tommy and his father looming just behind him.

“M-Mr. Freeman!” Tommy cheered, tackle-hugging him the moment he saw his friend.

“Oh, jeez, Tommy!” Gordon cried. He stumbled a few steps back, unprepared for Tommy’s onslaught. 

“O-Oh, so-sorry!” Tommy immediately let go.

“I hope we’re not…  _ Too  _ late.” The G-Man stepped into the home after having been forced to lower his head to pass through the doorway. He carried a pot with the lid still over it. He glanced around the living room with a neutral expression.

Dr. Coomer and Bubby’s home wasn’t something to rave on about. It was crafted in the 70s with much of the original furniture either still intact or refurbished. A newly hung flat screen was placed above the mantle on the brick fireplace where Joshua was sitting in front of to play. Orange stained wooden bookshelves were shouldered next to the fireplace which was packed to the brim with books, loose-leaf papers, and binders. Straight from the front door was the narrow hallway in which led to both the bathroom and the kitchen that had a fresh aroma flying from it. 

“Your residence is… Adequate.” The G-Man decided after a few moments.

“Thank you! We put much effort into it!” Dr. Coomer replied.

“Too much, if you ask me,” Bubby grumbled, slouching slightly.

“Where’s Darnold?” Gordon asked, glancing over Tommy’s shoulder.

Tommy blushed before glancing down at his feet. “He wa-wanted to c-come but his uh… H-His w-work held him b-back.”

“Tis a shame. I’ll get that pot from you- oh?”

To Gordon and Dr. Coomer’s surprise, Joshua had grabbed onto the doctor’s pants with a grin. With a nod from Gordon, Dr. Coomer scooped the young boy into his arms. As if it was instinctual, Joshua grabbed hold of Dr. Coomer’s hair and started to pull.

“Joshie!” Gordon yelled, starting to panic.

“Oh, it’s alright Gordon! He’s just messing around!” Dr. Coomer chuckled all while gently prying the hand off his hair.

“Careful, he might take the remaining hair you have for himself.” Benrey joked.

“I can help them with the food, Dr. Coomer.” Gordon offered.

“Why, thank you, Gordon. And I can look after little Joshua here!” 

“I go-gotta get Su-Sunkist from the c-car!” Tommy explained, making his way back outside. “I-I’ll be ba-back.”

Without any warning, The G-Man started to make his way towards the kitchen with Gordon having to rush after him. Gordon wasn’t a small man, but The G-Man abnormally long legs forced Gorman to walk faster to keep up with the suit’s large strides. 

Once they reached the kitchen, Gordon wanted to gag. The brown cabinets and pea green tiles clashed horribly with each other with the bright yellow refrigerator molding the scene into something even worse. Different trays of food were strewn across the laminate countertops. There was a caesar salad in a bowl next to a massive tray of spaghetti and meatballs and a plate of garlic bread. Gordon was impressed by the red velvet cake but was most certainly unimpressed by the Doritos and Mountain Dew threw about.

“I see your companion Benrey is a bit lacking in the creativity department.” The G-Man remarked.

“He’s not my companion. He’s more like a pest.” Gordon corrected.

“Really?” The G-Man replied with a low drawl.

Gordon felt The G-Man’s stare dig pinpricks into his skin, but he pretended to be more interested in the food in front of him. “Yeah. He helped cut off my arm, left me to die at the hands of the military, turned into an eldritch abomination- no offense.”

“None taken, Mr. Freeman.”

“Okay, but he turned into an eldritch abomination to kill us because of a dick slip like… Who  _ does  _ that!?”

“Didn’t Dr. Bubby  _ also  _ contribute to the loss of your appendage, did he not?” The G-Man inquired.

“Yes, but… He didn’t  _ harass  _ me constantly as Benrey did.” Gordon explained.

"...When I observed your band of scientific misfits  _ gallivanting  _ across… Black Mesa I can recall several times that… Dr. Bubby was less than  _ cordial  _ with you.”

Gordon didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled up the orange sweater sleeve on his right arm to reveal the thick scar wrapped around the skin. The ghostly whiteness of the mark seemed almost burned into Gordon’s skin. It was uneven which implied that the original wound had been a sloppy cut.

“I know it sounds pathetic but I keep dreaming of that moment. The darkness. The feeling of the knife across my skin. The soldiers dragging me. I keep reliving that moment almost every time I close my eyes and… It  _ frightens  _ me.”

The G-Man was quiet. He contemplated the physicist’s words before he rested a firm hand on Gordon’s shoulder.

“I don’t… Expect you to forgive Benrey… Nor do I expect the pain could leave at the slightest hint of  _ good luck _ . But I do know that harboring this grudge will hurt. It will be quite painful for you… And your son.”

Gordon looked up at The G-Man and was surprised to be met with a sympathetic stare. The G-Man brought his hands together as he continued to speak. “Being upset is a fair emotion, but the pure  _ hatred  _ will cloud everything good you have, Mr. Freeman. I hope you take this advice to heart.”

The man was going to reply, but a mix of loud barking and high pitched screams snapped his attention away from the bureaucrat.

“Joshie? Joshie!”

He fled the kitchen, leaving The G-Man behind as he slid into the wall trying to get into the living room. His mind went into a panic at the same time as he mangled to race into the living room. Instead of being met with a disaster, he was faced with the Science Team watching Joshua as he buried his hands and face into a golden retriever’s soft fur. Tommy was stroking the dog with him, keeping a close eye on the boy as he eagerly explored the body of the equally excited pupper. Even the usually curmudgeonly Bubby was observing the scene with a hint of fondness. Benrey, meanwhile, was chewing on one of Joshua’s toys. Tommy noticed Gordon standing awkwardly and smiled.

“M-Mr. Freeman! Y-Your so-son really likes Sunkist!”

Gordon didn’t answer. He chose to continue watching his son play. Sunkist, meanwhile, leaned over and gave Joshua a couple of quick licks on the face. Joshua let out a happy scream.

“Gordon? Are you alright?” 

Gordon snapped out of his stupor. Everyone seemed to be intensely watching Gordon. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and answered. “Y-Yeah, Coomer. Just… I heard the screams and-”

“Awww, Gordo worried about Lil’ Junior?” Benrey cooed.

He frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but a shadow engulfed Gordon, leading to him to swiftly closed his mouth. The G-Man stepped out from behind Gordon with a furrowed brow aimed towards Benrey. Benrey wilted under the man’s gaze and looked away. Dr. Coomer scooped up Joshua before heading him over to Gordon.

“We’ve been trying to teach him new words!” Dr. Coomer explained.

“Oh? What kind of words?” Gordon said, worried about what horrors the gang tried to tell his son.

Dr. Coomer placed his hands on his knees so he could lean in closer to Joshua. “My boy, can you say ‘thermonuclear explosion’? C’mon, say it. Say it.”

Joshua chose to instead let out a string of gibberish before sticking his fist in his mouth. Gordon chuckled then pulled Joshua’s hand away. “He’s a baby, Coomer. He can’t say anything that deep yet. All he can say is ‘dada’ and ‘no’.”

“Pathetic!” Bubby piped up from his chair. “When I created, I already knew words like ‘thermonuclear explosion’ and ‘carbon monoxide’.”

“Bruh, that’s lame,” Benrey interjected. “When I spawned into being, I already knew full sentences!”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Benrey, Bubby, you guys are from an alien dimension and created in a lab respectfully.”

“Oh… I remember Tommy’s first words.” The G-Man sighed fondly. “It was ‘OSHA’. Oh, the  _ memories _ …”

“D-Dad!” Tommy groaned, burying his face in his hands. Sunkist noticed her master’s pain and pressed her nose against his side.

“We should probably get started eating,” Gordon said. “Joshua’s getting fussy.”

The group agreed and shuffled into the kitchen. Dr. Coomer was excited to show Gordon the highchair he crafted specifically for Joshua, which Bubby deemed a waste of Coomer’s talents. Gordon was extremely happy and nearly burst into tears, but somehow managed to keep it together. The group had to keep Benrey from eating all the food but one stern look from The G-Man made the native Xen being sit still. Surprisingly, The G-Man and Tommy managed to cook a normal meal, pot roast, which shocked Gordon ( _ I thought they were gonna make something soda based _ ). The gang managed to have a regular dinner all things considered with the only argument spawning from the hosts themselves, Dr. Coomer and Bubby, arguing over Bubby’s doctorate. Gordon wasn’t too bothered as it was a common fight the normally happily pair got into. He was more focused on Joshua and trying to keep the boy for completely destroying his outfit. Coomer had continued his goal of trying to get Joshua to speak.

“Sunkist is a dog, dear Joshua. Can you say dog?”

Joshua, once again, ignored him and grabbed a handful of spaghetti to shove into his mouth.

“I’ve noticed he’s more responsive to family words. You know, like ‘dad’ and ‘mom’.” Gordon explained while cleaning Joshua’s face.

Dr. Coomer nodded and collected his thoughts. “Okay… Joshua, can you say ‘mommy’? What about ‘daddy’?”

“Kinky.”

“Shut up, Benrey.”

“Make me, Feetman.”

“What about ‘brother’? ‘Sister’? ‘Grandma’? ‘Grandpa’? What about-”

“Grandpa!”

Everyone went quiet. Everyone, even the snarky Benrey, seemed to be stunned and wide-eyed. Joshua let out a giggle and slapped the highchair tray. “Grandpa!”

“Wh- Wha-” Gordon stuttered.

“Yes, Joshua, Grandpa!” Dr. Coomer cheered, clapping with joy.

Joshua stuck out his arms towards Coomer with a bright grin. “Grandpa!”

“Yes, yes! I can be your grandpa!” Dr. Coomer shouted with glee. He picked up the baby and almost did a happy dance with him in his arms. Bubby let out a long sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, then glared at Gordon.

“Great. Just fucking great, Freeman. Now he’s going to be asking for a baby all night.”

“We can have a baby!?” Dr. Coomer asked.

“No!” Bubby protested.

“I th-think you’d be won-wonderful parents, Dr. Coomer, D-Dr. B-Bubby.” Tommy chimed in.

“It’d be most… A _ musing  _ to watch.” The G-Man added. 

Benrey couldn’t say anything as he was too preoccupied laughing at the blushing Bubby.

“No! No kids!” 

“Please, dear.” Dr. Coomer begged.

“No!”

“I, personally, think you’d be great parents.” Gordon chuckled.

Bubby groaned. “Oh God, not you too!”

The rest of the night was spent trying to console a distressed Bubby as Dr. Coomer and Joshua continued to celebrate in the other room. As Gordon had to listen to the fifteenth protest from Bubby that night, he couldn’t help but smile.

_ I think I can get used to this kind of life. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best type of family is found family don't @ me


	3. Park Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gay and Angst! The best combo!

Flittered sunlight from the cool early autumn afternoon cut its way through the few trees planted in the New Mexican park. As the stroller rolled over the leaves that had fallen, the crackling sound they made caused Joshua’s eyes to grow wide. He kicked his little feet in the air, laughing just as his father chuckled at his son’s expression.

“You like that, don’tcha, Joshie?”

Joshua let out another set of high-pitched laughter when Gordon continued to run over the dead leaves. Gordon let out a playful sigh before glancing fondly down at his boy.

“What am I going to do with you, Joshie?”

The baby just giggled and started to chew on his fist. 

Gordon was enjoying the fact his son was having fun. The whole week had just been calculations upon calculations mixed with boring office talk had melted his brain into nothing but a pile of mush. While he found the work more exciting then the stuff he did back in Austria at Innsbruck, but a small part of him missed the action that Black Mesa gave him (pre-Resonance Cascade, of course) and craved something more… Invigorating. Nevertheless, he was just happy to have a stable job, even if it meant forcing him to complete mind-numbing tasks. 

The park was the perfect place to relax after a long work week. The air was surprisingly cool for New Mexico accompanied by the lack of heavy noise made it easy for Gordon to relax. 

That was until a dog tackled him to the ground.

He was lucky that the stroller wasn’t knocked over in the process but it didn’t stop him from hitting the back of his head on the gravel path. Wet kisses were planted on his face by the overly excited pupper. Gordon groaned, both from the licks and the pain and pressed the button part of his palm against his eyes before he realized something.

“Ah, shit! My glasses!”

“H-Here, M-Mr. Freeman!”

Through the blurriness of his vision, Gordon managed to make out a person-like shape holding what he assumed to be his glasses. He grabbed and slipped them onto his face where he finally was able to get a better view of who he was talking to.

“Thanks- Tommy!?”

The usually child-like Tommy was wearing professional clothes. A white button-down with black slacks and black loafers outfit took Gordon back. What especially shocked him was that fact Tommy was wearing one of what he guessed was G-Man’s maroon ties. Gordon blinked a couple of times.

“What… What are you wearing?”

Tommy blushed and stood up. “I-I uh… W-Well… M-Me and Dar-Darnold…”

“Bork!”

“Sunkist! D-Down!”

Gordon turned to see Sunkist had buried her face into Joshua’s stroller. Joshua was enjoying it, letting out cheerful screams to show his pleasure. Tommy called again and Sunkist immediately returned to her master’s side. Her tail wagged happily as Tommy picked up her leash from the park’s ground.

“Wait, is this like… A date outfit?” Gordon asked.

Tommy’s blush reddened even farther. “Y-Yeah.”

It was Gordon’s turn to be embarrassed. “O-Oh. Listen, I-I’m sorry man-”

“I-It’s okay, Mr. Freeman!” Tommy raised his hands defensively. “I-I should be apologizing. You k-know, because of S-Sunkist.” 

The golden retriever barked at the mention of her name and wagged her tail even faster. Tommy frowned at the dog. “S-Sunkist, hu-hurting Mr. Freeman isn’t n-nice. You need to say s-sorry.”

Sunkist glanced up at Gordon with her warm chocolate colored eyes and let out a pitiful whine. Gordon offered a half-smile in return. “It’s okay, girl. It’s not your fault.”

The man strolled over to check on Joshua. He was glad to see that the boy wasn’t harmed in any way and seemed more interested in taking off his socks then the people around him. Gordon playfully scolded his son before slipping his socks back onto his feet. He could feel Tommy’s awkward gaze digging into the back of his skull but choose to ignore it to focus on Joshua first. 

After he finished tending to Joshua’s needs, Gordon faced Tommy once more with a friendly smile.

“Good luck with your date. See ya.”

“W-Wait! Mr. F-Freeman!”

Gordon stopped again and turned. Tommy was nervously wringing his hands and had his eyes pointed at his shoes. It was only then when Gordon realized he was shaking a little.

“I-I’m go-going that w-way as well. C-Can I walk w-with you?”

Gordon paused. Even though Tommy was technically ten years his senior, he couldn’t help but think of him as a little brother. His naivety and positive attitude were what grounded him during the escape from Black Mesa, especially after the US soldiers cut his arm off. Plus, The G-Man’s words flooded back to him at that moment.

**_ Make sure no harm comes to my… Progeny, will you? _ **

_ I know that that time has passed  _ Gordon thought  _ But he’s seriously freaking out about this. _

“Alright, bud. C’mon.”

Tommy instantly perked up and ran to Gordon’s side. The two walked in silence with the only sounds coming from Sunkist’s panting and Joshua’s coos. Gordon felt like he needed to speak up as Tommy was muttering and whimpering to himself and messing with the ends of his shirt. 

“So…” Gordon started. “You and Darnold, huh?”

Tommy blushed again. “Y-Yeah.”

“Hey, I’m not judging. I’m just… Wondering how you two… you know.”

“Met?” Tommy tilted his head.

“Yeah.”

“Well, a-after we all es-escaped Bl-Black Mesa, D-Darnold and I g-got to talking,” a smile crept up onto Tommy’s face. “I-It turns out w-we ha-have a l-lot of the same interests. H-He likes th-the Minions, I like the M-Minions. He l-likes soda, I l-like soda. A-And he’s ni-nice and k-kind and f-funny and h-he likes to pl-play M-Mario Party with me.”

Gordon listened to Tommy ramble for a few minutes. He couldn’t help but feel proud of him. Tommy’s head had lifted and he was more expressive with his hand movements, not constantly wringing them together. 

“I’m proud of you, dude,” Gordon stated after Tommy finished explaining why Darnold believing the orange Tic-Tacs were better than the white ones.

“R-Really?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah! I mean, it’s nice that you’re expanding your circle of friends.” Gordon explained.

“Y-Yeah, it’s n-nice.” Tommy smiled, his eyes shimmering with enthusiasm. “Do you have an-anyone…  _ Special _ , li-like that, M-Mr. F-Freeman?”

Gordon bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t know what to tell Tommy.

_ I don’t wanna lie to him but…  _

“No… I don’t.” Gordon said.

“W-Well, wh-what about J-Joshua’s m-mom?” Tommy questioned Gordon, looking down at the baby fondly.

“She… She didn’t want to be a part of our lives anymore, Tommy.” Gordon muttered. “I don’t wanna get into it.”

“Oh.”

The two moved in stillness as Joshua continued to make babbling noises. Tommy looked uncomfortable with what Gordon had said and Gordon wanted to comfort him, but he too wasn’t feeling alright. The mention of Gordon’s ex flooded the man’s memories with terrible visions of the past. 

The pair rounded a corner and Tommy’s face instantly lit up. At the front gate of the park stood a taller man in a striped polo. His black pants matched his shoes and the dark color of his hair. He seemed to be more interested in texting on his phone than watching out for the group before Tommy shouted.

“D-Darnold!”

Darnold lifted his head. A wide grin spread across Tommy’s face that was shared by Darnold as the former launched himself at the latter. The two embraced in a tight hug with Sunkist following behind her master and trying to get in on the action. Gordon stood awkwardly away from the group, considering moving away before Darnold and Tommy ending their hug.

“I’ve been waiting for you for ten minutes, Tommy!” Darnold shouted with a touch of playfulness in his voice.

Tommy’s face shifted into a bright scarlet. “S-Sorry! Su-Sunkist a-accidentally ran into M-Mr. Freeman and-”

“Gordon? Oh!”

Darnold turned his attention to Gordon, a smile still gleaming on his face. He walked over and outstretched his hand. “Hello, Gor- I mean, Dr. Freeman! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Y-Yeah, it has,” Gordon said, perplexed by the sudden bout of happiness. “You can just call me Gordon. I’m not big on formalities.”

Darnold chuckled. “Alright, fine, and who is this,  _ Gordon _ ?”

Gordon picked up on the fact Darnold was staring at Joshua and smiled. “That’s my boy, Joshua.”

“Joshua. What a lovely name.” Darnold leaned into the stroller. Joshua’s eyes widened at the sight of the new person and he started trying to grab at Darnold’s face.

“Careful, he tends to pull on things and steal food,” Gordon warned, noticing the granola bar in Darnold’s chest pocket.

“Oh, a little thief is he?” Darnold said.

“He got into my tin of cashews and slobbered on them. I was looking forward to eating those.”

Darnold chuckled. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it. It was nice meeting you, Gordon. I hope we can see each other again.”

“Yeah… Hopefully.”

Tommy and Darnold waved Gordon off before leaving the park with Sunkist in tow. Gordon was left standing alone along with Joshua, who didn’t seem to pick up on the fact his father’s face had dropped into a more solemn expression. The father reached down and stroked Joshua’s cheek.

“Joshie, do you miss mommy?”

“Bah.”

“...Yeah, me too…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.... Dramaaaaa


	4. Late Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon gets a late-night call and suddenly is a therapist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter! I had my wisdom teeth removed and that was a pain in the ass. I reference a friend's OC but they won't be a large part of the story so y'all don't need to freak out or anything. There's also a Valve Easter Egg in here. Lemme know if you find it.

“Gordon, I need your help.”

“...What?”

“Have you become deaf or something, Freeman? I’m asking for your help.”

Gordon groaned and shuffled around his bedside table to find his glasses. After finding them, he slipped them on to peer at the digital clock. 

“It’s 3:41 in the goddamn morning, Bubby. Someone better be dead or I swear-”

“Can you come over?”

Gordon paused. “What.”

“Can. You. Come. Over.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Then don’t act like a dumbass and answer the question!”

“No!” Gordon shouted at his cellphone, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s too fucking late and I’m not waking Joshua to-”

“Can I come to  _ your  _ apartment then?” Bubby interrupted, growing impatient.

“Wha- I mean, fine, just-”

“Great. See you in fifteen.”

“Bubby, wait-”

The call ended without another word from the older scientist. Gordon, still half sleep-deprived and more than a little confused, set down his phone and started to get out of his bed. Every fiber of his being was telling him to go back to sleep and forget the entire event; however, Gordon couldn’t shake the fact that Bubby, the man who would insult and talk down to Gordon at every chance he got, was asking for his help.

_ The world must be ending or something because I swear to God… _

Gordon hastily threw on an orange tank top and gray shorts before stepping out of his bedroom and into the living room. He started to clean up the place by picking up some of the scattered garbage and Joshua’s toys. The apartment was way too small. The couch that was meant for the living room had invaded the kitchen space and the bar stools placed at the counter almost blocked the path to the hallway. Gordon was also sure that the placement of the fridge, oven, and dishwasher was a major fire hazard; Not to mention the bathroom was directly next to the front door. 

_ Maybe I should just move  _ Gordon thought for the hundredth time that month.

He tossed some of the garbage into the garbage can that stood next to the fridge, too tired to care that it was overflowing with trash. He winced as he stepped on one of Joshua’s toy horses before picking it out.

_ Reminder: Tell the babysitter to make sure all the toys are picked up _ .

A sudden knock at the door caused Gordon to drop all the toys. He cursed at himself and tried to pick them up.

“Goddamn it, Freeman, I know you’re there! Open the door!”

“Shi- Hold on a second!”

The man chose to dump the toys onto the counter instead of returning them to their rightful spot. He opened the front door to be greeted with Bubby glaring up directly at him. The scientist clearly had rushed getting dressed like Gordon did as his button-up wasn’t even fully buttoned and the belt he haphazardly slipped on barely held up his sagging pants. Even his glasses were crooked. Gordon was instantly shoved aside so Bubby could invade his home.

“Jeez, Freeman, can’t you tell this is serious?!”

Gordon fixed his glasses with a huff. “Can’t you understand that it’s almost four in the morning and I have work?”

Bubby dismissed him with a hand wave. “Just call off or something. My life  _ depends  _ on this.”

The guest chose to sit in the old recliner that had been shoved into the corner. He decided to press his knees against his chest and rest his chin on top of them. 

“Dude, get your feet off the chair. That was my grandpa’s.” Gordon groaned, practically collapsing onto his couch.

“Well, pardon me, but I doubt your grandpa is gonna care much about little ol’ me, seeing as he isn’t here,” Bubby grumbled, shifting around to make himself comfortable.

“Yeah, that’s because he’s dead,” Gordon sighed. “Can you just tell me why you’re here so I can go to bed.”

Bubby, now with the spotlight suddenly on him, turned his head away from Gordon. A faint tinge of red grew onto his cheeks. Gordon noticed this and smirked.

“What? Suddenly got cold-feet, Mr. Macho-Man?”

“Shut the fuck up, Freeman! I’m thinking.” Bubby shouted.

He ran his fingers through the remaining bits of his hair before speaking. “It’s… It’s about Harold.”

“Dr. Coomer? Is he okay?” Gordon asked, instantly worried about his friend.

“He’s fine! Sorta…” Bubby teetered off. “He’s just been… Well…”

“He’s not been himself lately,” he explained. “He has been so… Quiet lately. He says he’s fine but I’ve noticed he hasn’t been as expressive as he usually is and tends to lock himself in our room. His meal quality has also gone down.”

Bubby leaned back in the chair. “Personally, I blame those  _ stupid  _ TV shows. Infecting his mind and all that.”

“TV shows? Meal quality- Wait, Bubby, what does all of this have to do with me?” Gordon’s head was swimming with all this knowledge.

Bubby went silent once more. He began to play with the sleeve-ends of his lab coat instead of speaking it. It took some time, but after a deep breath, he chose to talk. “I’ll be honest with you, Freem- I mean, Gordon. I believe this problem is a…  _ Relationship  _ sorta thing and you’re the only one that I believe is qualified for this.”

Gordon snorted. “Me? Relationships? Man, what makes you think I’m good with that?”

Even though Bubby's glasses blocked Gordon from seeing his eyes, he was almost positive that the older man was frowning at him. “Let’s run through the list, shall we? I can’t go to Harold because this problem centers around him. Tommy doesn’t even understand sex, much less the deep complexities of having relationship problems. Darnold’s brain can only think about soda and Tommy. And the less said about Mr. Coolatta and Benrey the better.”

Bubby sighed, which, to Gordon, felt like more of a forced groan. “To be honest, Gordon, you are the most stable when it comes to these things. I mean, you managed to have a biological child so that proves you managed to have sex, at least.”

Gordon groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dude, listen, Joshua is my world and my everything, don’t get that confused, but his mom and I… Let’s just say we’re not on friendly terms and she was my most serious relationship. Everyone else was just a high school boyfriend or girlfriend that barely lasted a couple of months.”

“Well, what about that one scientist girl from Harold and I’s department back at Black Mesa?”

“Alicia? I mean, we flirted a couple of times but we never did anything  _ serious _ . All we really did was talk about Joshua, her roommate, and her cat Sprite. I was going to ask her out before shit hit the fan, actually.”

“Yeah… What happened to her anyway?” Bubby inquired.

Gordon turned away from Bubby. “When we were escaping, I saw a headcrab… You know… Feasting on her remains. I killed it so she could have some peace after death.”

“Oh.”

The two were quiet for a while before Bubby cleared his throat. “Whatever, now back to the topic at hand-”

“Alright, fine. You mentioned a TV show, what’s that’s all about.” Gordon interrupted, hoping to go back to sleep.

“I was getting to it but yeah he keeps watching… Uh…”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Bubby, I’m not going to harass you over your husband's choices, I’m way too tired for that.”

Bubby sighed. “He keeps watching wedding based shows. You know,  _ Say Yes To The Dress _ , _ My Fair Wedding _ , all that junk.”

“Is… Is there a reason behind it?”

“... Our anniversary is coming up, the anniversary of when we met that is. I think he’s vicariously trying to live through the people on the show but he won’t give me a straight answer when I ask him and it’s fucking annoying!”

“We, maybe he wants to renew your vows or something? Or maybe he wants you to do something.”

Bubby’s face went pale. Gordon groaned. “Now what?”

“We… We never  _ technically  _ got married.”

Gordon went still. “What?”

“We just went to the courthouse and got that certificate thingie after we wrecked Benrey’s shit and had that party!”

Gordon wanted to slam his head against his wall. He couldn’t believe that even with his brilliant scientist mind he couldn’t figure out human emotions even if it were to be directly in his face.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Bubby. Are you this dumb or is this a special occasion?” Gordon said with a monotone tone.

“You better watch your tone or you and this whole apartment is going up in flames.” Bubby pointed a finger at Gordon, the threat not lost on the both of them.

“Coomer wants to get married, you fuckwit.”

It was Bubby’s turn to appear perplexed. He sunk into the chair. “R-Really? To who?”

Gordon was flabbergasted. “To wh- To you, dumbass! It’s not like he gushes over you or talks to you in reverent tones or anything. For God’s sake, the man once texted us at one in the morning to gush about how well you did the dishes, Coomer wouldn’t go for anyone else than you.”

Bubby bit his bottom lip and started to play with the chair’s arm. “Why?”

“Why?” Gordon shrugged. “I dunno, the man has shit taste? In all seriousness, he probably adores you for being you, man.”

“No,  _ why _ would he want  _ this _ ! With  _ me _ !”

As if in a flash, the older scientist was on his feet and pacing the room. He had burrowed his hands into his remaining locks of hair and were starting to tug. His sharp teeth were biting deep into his bottom lip to the point Gordon was afraid he’d go right through and the man looked genuinely frightened. Gordon stood up and went to comfort the man.

“Hey, it’s oka-”

“NO!” Bubby slapped Gordon’s hand away from him. “It’s not okay! I-It’s not…”

He slumped against the corner of the room. His hands were still gripping his hair as if his life depended on it all while he slid down the wall onto the floor. To Gordon’s amazement, the usually snarky scientist de-evolved into a blithering mess right on his wooden floor. His grip had lessened and, instead, he wrapped his arms around his side and started to rock from side to side as Bubby’s started to speak nonsense. Gordon carefully, as he would act towards a frightened child, bent down to attempt to calm him down. Fear fluttered throughout his chest when he noticed that Bubby wasn’t just being his overdramatic self, but genuinely terrified. His glasses had slipped so Gordon could see that his eyes were welling up with tears.

“Wha-What’s going on, buddy?” Gordon said softly, reaching out a hand. “Do you need me to call Coomer or-”

“No! H-He can’t see me!” Bubby cried out, digging his nails into Gordon’s arm.

Gordon winced, both at Bubby’s touch and his friend's pained expression. “Listen, if I don’t call him and he finds out about this, he’ll kill me.”

“Don’t y-you understand, Go-Gordon! H-He can’t kn-know!” Bubby let out a couple of choked sobs. “H-He ca-can’t k-know! H-He c-can’t b-be here! He ca-can’t be w-with  _ me _ !”

Gordon shook his head in disbelief. “Bubby, what the  _ fuck  _ are you talking about? Coomer would sacrifice everything for you where is this coming from?”

Bubby released another set of sobs right before he answered. “H-Harold has s-so much po-potential! H-He’s wasting it!”

“He’s not doing any of that!” Gordon slowly pulled his friend into his grasp, ignoring his snot and tears seeping into his tank top. “You gotta slow down and collect your-”

“I-I’m not a pe-person, Gordon! I’m a fu-fucking  _ thing! _ ” Bubby spat out the word as if it were bile. “ _ They,  _ B-Black Me-Mesa, th-they barely c-cared about me. D-Didn’t even g-give m-me a f-fucking  _ gender _ be-before tossing me in-into the w-world. All they c-cared a-about was th-the p-proof that c-clones could b-be  _ c-created _ , be _ used _ , be  _ ab-abused _ . H-Harold was th-the o-only one wh-who c-cared. Wh-Who saw me as  _ me _ in-instead of Subject GN-11362. H-He w-was so ge-gentle and k-kind a-and smart and funny and… And he deserves so m-much better th-then a fucking stupid py-pyromantic with i-identity issues.”

“Bubby, shut up, seriously.”

Gordon’s harsh words caused Bubby to go silent and raise his head. The pure confusion and shock that reflection from Bubby onto him made Gordon’s mouth go dry, but he persisted.

“I’ll admit, Coomer is a bit of a nutjob but he’s  _ your  _ nutjob.” He patted his friend’s back. “I can go on and on about how many times just  _ mentioning  _ your name has caused him to go into an hours-long tangent about how great you are. He talks about you like you’re the goddamn Messiah! I’d be fucking concerned if he just decided to leave you one day.”

Helping them both to their feet, Gordon rested his hands on Bubby’s shoulders. “You can’t freak out about this, man. He is  _ clearly  _ into you plus you already are married legally, this ceremony is just the bow that ties it all together. He’ll still love you and cherish you no matter what, promise.”

Bubby continued to stare up at him then released a loud wail. He buried his face into Gordon’s shoulder, holding onto him as tight as he could. Gordon nearly toppled over but managed to steady himself so he could properly hold onto the man. As Bubby sunk deeper into him, Gordon couldn’t help but feel comforted by all of this. In Black Mesa, it was true that he was the glue that kept the Science Team from falling apart and their beacon, someone they could easily rely on. But, he knew physically they could easily make their own path and that, if they wanted, run off to do their own thing. Yet, it was the emotional bond that they all had. Even if he hated to admit it, Gordon did care for everyone and that included Benrey, and he enjoyed how much they all could be themselves around each other because… Fuck it, the world was ending around them so who cares if they were to drink all the soda Black Mesa could hold. To have this feeling again was… Nice.

Gordon, after making sure Bubby was able to drive at his normal level of recklessness, walked him to his car. Even though he appeared calmer, Bubby still had a dazed look in his eyes, a clear indication his mind was on other matters. It took Gordon to watch Bubby drive out of sight and an extra three minutes before he felt secure enough to go back inside to the safety of his crappy second-floor apartment. Even though it was around 4:20-ish ( _ Haha, funny weed number… God, am I turning into Benrey? _ ) and he had work in the morning, Gordon couldn’t just fall back to sleep. The whole ordeal with Bubby kept rotating in his mind and making him question everything.

_ How can two people like  _ that  _ have something so perfect? What are they doing so successfully? How can’t Bubby realize that he’s so lucky? _

Once six o’clock rolled around, Gordon, against the complaints from his body, rolled himself out of bed and began to get ready for the day, his mind still plague from the events that happened only a few hours before. He had prepared Joshua’s apple slices and baby food and set the baby into the high chair to eat when his cell phone started to ring. He allowed his son to slobber on his fruit so he could answer the call, believing it to be the babysitter. Instead, it was Dr. Coomer. Gordon stared at the number, took a deep breath, and answered the call. He was instantly met with the sounds of sniffling and heavy breathing. The urge to kill Bubby was quickly rising.

“H-Hey, Dr. Coomer!” he attempted to greet Coomer naturally, though his discomfort was slipping through the cracks. “Is everything okay?”

“O-Oh, hello Gordon! I have some news I’d like to share with you.”

“News. Uh, what kind of news?”

Dr. Coomer took a couple of deep breaths and cleared his throat.

“Gordon, I’m getting married!”


	5. Wedding Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding is on, but, of course, strangeness plagues the Science Team no matter where they go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My homework: P-Please... Do-Don't forget about us  
> Me: Silence! I'm making the gays happy!

“I can’t believe it, Gordon, this is actually happening!”

Gordon chuckled. “You’ve said this already, Dr. Coomer.”

The older man bounced in place. “I know! I’m just too excited!”

The pair were held up in one of the smaller backrooms of the banquet hall chosen for the wedding. It was rather stuffy, given how only certain parts of the building had air conditioning, but Dr. Coomer’s unbreakable enthusiasm was infectious so Gordon had no choice but to grin and bear it. Joshua, wearing a twenty-dollar formal romper onesie Gordon pulled off Amazon, was oblivious to everything happening around him and was enthralled by the plastic animal toys strewn across the blanket his father had laid out. Gordon watched the infant from the corner of his vision as he crouched down to help Dr. Coomer into his special outfit: a white ball gown-like wedding dress.

“Remind me why you choose this dress? It’s being a pain in the ass.” Gordon grumbled, struggling with the lace on the back.

“Because it shows off my super muscles and is  _ very  _ kickass, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer replied. While he held his regular chipper tone, the question of whether Gordon was going to say something negative lingered.

“I’m not judging, Dr. Coomer,” Gordon reassured him. “I just fucking hate these laces.”

“Do you need assistance, Gordon? For one PlayCoin ** ™,  ** I can instantly put on the dress.”

Gordon froze and glanced up at Dr. Coomer. “I have those still?”

Coomer smiled. “You have plenty, Gordon!”

Gordon’s brow furrowed. Most of the “special” talents he and the others were able to accomplish in Black Mesa seemed to have stopped such as Tommy’s ability to “see faster” after drinking soda and Coomer’s super punches. He had been under the impression that Bubby’s pyromaniac powers and Benrey’s Sweet Voice had been the only unnatural things to survive, not counting G-Man as a whole (G-Man was a whole different can of worms). But Coomer sounded so sure…

“I thought I gave you my last one. You know, at the Boss Fight, so you could activate the SuperPlayer ** ™  ** feature.”

Dr. Coomer began to adjust the top of his dress as Gordon stood up in a hurry with the physicist trying to piece everything together. “I remember explaining to you that each human is born with seven PlayCoins ** ™  ** to their name, Gordon. Throughout their life, their experiences will help to either increase or decrease that number. It’s very simple, now that I say it out loud.”

“...Dr. Coomer, how many do I have?”

Much to Gordon’s horror, he watched as the scientist’s face twisted into one of eerie neutralness instead of the usual joy and contentment he usually had. Dr. Coomer stared blankly into one of the full-length mirrors placed in the room by the employees. Gordon took a step back. He didn’t want to get caught in whatever was happening to his friend. Joshua, noticing the sudden silence, slipped past his father and half-walked, half-stubbled over to the frozen Coomer. Gordon, still stunned by the whole dilemma, didn’t realize his son had left the safety of his blanket and had planted himself right at Coomer’s feet. He began to rush over in a panic.

“Joshua-!”

“You have exactly  ** Twenty  ** PlayCoins ** ™ ** !”

Just like that, Dr. Coomer was back to his normal self. To say it wasn’t disturbing would be a lie, especially since when the older man turned around he frowned at the sight of Gordon’s horrified expression.

“Are you alright, Gordon?”

“Grandpa!”

Joshua was making grabby hands up at Dr. Coomer, who swiftly picked up the baby with eager fervor. Joshua wasted no time in trying to pull on his adopted grandfather’s hair, whom the latter didn’t make any attempts at stopping.

“Now, young Joshua, you still pronounce it “gwanpa” instead of “grandpa”. Can you say it like that? Grandpa?” Dr. Coomer asked.

“T-Twenty PlayCoins ** ™ ** ?” Gordon repeated.

“Yes! And if you use one, Gordon, the dress will be instantly on!” 

“No, I can do this myself,” Gordon said. He took Joshua from Coomer’s grasp and set him back down on the blanket. Gordon heard Coomer chuckle as he bet down to finish tying off the dress.

“A frugal man, aren’t you, Gordon?”

“No,” Gordon admitted. “Just tired of freaky shit.” 

Dr. Coomer let out a non-committal hum and turned his attention back to the mirror. The two worked in silence, with Gordon finishing up the last touches on Coomer’s dress and the latter standing as straight as humanly possible. Gordon completed his task just as there was a knock at the door. It opened and in stepped the G-Man. He had his usual aura of indifference surrounding him, but a twinkle in his eyes revealed he was excited, deep down.

“Ah… Mr. Freeman, Dr. Coomer… It’s  _ nearly  _ time.”

“Oh, shit, ah Coomer,” Gordon stood up and turned to pull his hair back into his standard ponytail. “You ready?”

“In a moment, I need to make sure I’m perfect!”

“Acceptable... Mr. Freeman, I-I think we should… Go. I  _ do  _ need to speak w-with you, regardless.” 

Gordon felt G-Man’s gaze burrow into his skin. A shiver ran up his spine. Even though he’d consider G-Man a part of his friend group, he was still a complete mystery to him.

Still, Gordon said goodbye to the soon-to-be-married man after packing up all of Joshua’s stuff and leaving with G-Man at his side. The two walked through the sparsely decorated hallways of the banquet hall with the only noise being Joshua’s random blabbing. Gordon thought the G-Man died moving due to how still he was. He wasn’t even sure if the man was breathing. The G-Man adjusted his tie, a red one that matched the inky blackness of his suit (Gordon assumed he changed the color at Tommy’s request) then glanced at Gordon. 

_ Why does this motherfucker have to be built like an NBA pro?  _ The theoretical physicist thought to himself. He could feel a cold sweat beginning to brew under his suit.

“Nervous…  _ Doctor Freeman _ ?”

Gordon swallowed a mouthful of salvia. “Y-Yeah, a little.”

The G-Man looked ahead. “Don’t be. Dr. Coomer he… Uh…  _ Tended  _ to all the finan-cial side of today so nothing  _ should  _ go wrong.”

“Why did you word it like that?” Gordon had to ask. 

Slowly, the G-Man let out a sly grin. “I’m not very  _ subtle _ , am I, Mr. Freeman?”

“You also have a habit of changing my title.” Gordon couldn’t help but point out.

He was worried that G-Man might snap his fingers and end his life then and there, but the bureaucrat took it with stride and let out a wheezy chuckle. “Forgive me, I’m… Ne-ever sure  _ what  _ to call you, exactly.”

“You can just call me ‘Gordon’.”

“Ah, but wh-where is the fun in  _ that _ , hm?”

G-Man picked off a piece of lint from his suit-sleeve and flicked it away. “Regardless, you noticed my… Imp-lication. I need your advice… Uh-something.”

Gordon shifted Joshua so he could sit comfortably on his hip. “Um, I mean, I’ll try.”

“Good choice, Mr. Freeman,” G-Man faced the end of the hallway. “It’s come to my at- _ tention  _ that our dear friend, Doctor Bubby is in quite the… Predicament.” __

That made Gordon nervous. Did the G-Man discover what happened on that night two weeks ago? Was he stalking them? He realized the pair had stopped walking while he was deep in thought and the G-Man was still expecting an answer.

“I er- well, what would be the problem?” he answered.

G-Man blinked slowly before clearing his throat. “According to the  _ gov _ -ernment, Doctor Bubby doesn’t… Ah…  _ Exist _ . Therefore, his life is a very… Challenging one, as seen with the wed-dding.”

Gordon began to grow concerned. “W-Well, shouldn’t we help him with that? If he’s not seen as a person then he can’t get a job and- Wait, does that mean Coomer’s the only one working right now?”

“At the local high school,” G-Man nodded. “He’s  _ very  _ pop-ular with the  _ stu _ -dents there.”

“Well, we need to help him!” Gordon shouted. “W-We can’t Just- Ignore the problem!”

“Yes, they’re working on it.” 

“G-Man, I- They need our help!”

“You misunderstood me.  _ They  _ are working on it.”

Now Gordon was confused. Who the hell was this ‘they’? G-Man must have noticed because he began to explain.

“I managed to con-vince some of my  _ employers  _ that…  _ Doc _ -tor Bubby services to us mi-might be useful. They were hesi-tant but I reminded them he was m-made to serve, thus he w-would be use- _ ful _ to them.”

“So you could want him to be a slave?!” Gordon couldn’t help but yell. The G-Man’s indifference was really starting to make his skin crawl.

Instead of returning Gordon’s anger, G-Man merely glanced down at the shorter man with an expression similar to one someone would give to an annoying puppy. The pair exchanged glares before the G-Man released a drawn-out sigh. 

“Forgive me, Dr.  _ Free _ man I… Realize that my words seem  _ har-harsh _ but I can assure you that I c-care for Doctor Bubby as much as y-you  _ do _ . H-However, my Employers  _ know _ me… Very well and so I-I have to app-appease them as much as I  _ c-can _ . M-My intentions are more… Personal.”

“What  _ are  _ your intentions?” Gordon asked, raising his eyebrow with suspicion.

“Tommy is worried about… It so I’m trying to c-comfort him.”

Gordon blinked once. Twice. Several times. He couldn’t believe G-Man’s responses. But his serious expression gave away that he wasn’t lying.

“Y- You’re helping Bubby?”

“Correct.”

“Because Tommy is worried about him.”

“Also correct.”

“And you felt the need to get involved because-”

“Mr. Freeman, you s-seem to not  _ grasp _ … I’d do  _ anything  _ fo-for my son.  _ Anything _ .”

The G-Man leaned in closer. “I-If anything were to…  _ Happen  _ to T-Tommy, physical or oth-otherwise… Ah… I don’t know what I’d do.”

The threat wasn’t lost on Gordon, especially with the G-Man’s eyes shimmering with a faint green glow. Even Joshua grew quiet and even pressed his face into his father’s chest. Realizing the growing awkwardness between them, the G-Man took a step back and cleared his throat.

“Regardless, I hope you can… Aid us in this goal. M-My Employers will do their be-best but… A few extra hands never hurt.”

As the two reared a corner, the G-Man started to talk once more. “N-Now, there’s also the matter of w-watching-”

“Sup.”

The two were faced with an uninterested Benrey standing at the start of the hallway in a slouched manner. Gordon grimaced at the man’s attire. While he had to admit Benrey had tried, it didn’t help that his blue suit jacket hung loosely off him and his tie wasn’t even correctly tied (not to mention it had several gaming console logos scattered across it). The worst part was he was still wearing that stupid security helmet. G-Man had to have agreed since his nose scrunched up at the sight of him. Benrey, realizing that everyone, including the now excited Joshua, was staring at him, glanced away. 

“Yo, uh, Attorney Wright? I think I’m suffering from… Discrimination.”

“-Him.” G-Man finished with a sigh. “I m-must resume wed-wedding preparations… Take care,  _ Gordon _ .”

“Y-Yeah. Wait, Gor-”

Gordon turned to see that the man had vanished. He tried to pinpoint his location but his efforts were in vain.

_ I really need to get used to that. _

“So, Feetman, I heard you are the best man?”

_ Oh right… Benrey. _

Gordon turned his attention back to the Xen creature in front of him. He noticed that his usually bluish tinted skin was currently a sickly grayish tone. The yellow sclera that surrounded his pupil was also a strange mixture of yellow and white. It seemed like he tried hard to look normal, yet now it looked like a skeleton had decided to dress up for a wedding. 

“Yeah, what of it?” Gordon answered.

“Man, really bummer bro,” Benrey whined, sticking his faded red tongue out like a child.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I wanted to be their best bro, ya know?” Benrey explained. “Isn’t it, like, a high honor. Like a fancy schmancy title. Sorta like the Challenger rank in LoL.”

“Dude, what are you talking about?” Gordon said with exacerbation.

“Never mind, forgot the Feetman was a noob.” Benrey cracked a sharp smile ( _ Guess not everything got fixed _ ).

“Okay, the tie, what’s that all about?” Gordon couldn’t help but ask. Benrey just stared at him blankly. Gordon pointed directly at it. “The tie. Seriously. Why that one and why is it like  _ that _ ?”

“Huh? Bro, stoooooop. You’re hurting the Ben-Man’s feelings.” Benrey pouted dramatically as he clutched the tie with both hands. “I got it for today.”

“Alright, but why is so messed up?”

“Uh, I dunno what you mean, Feetman.”

“I- Ugh, here, I can fix this.”

Without another word, he placed Joshua roughly into Benrey’s grasp with a simple ‘here’ before bending over to work on the disaster that was the abomination that dared to be dubbed a tie. It looked like Benrey had rushed in putting on the tie since it had bunched up in a tight knot. He leaned in closer to try and unravel it, nearly pressing himself against Benrey. He noticed that, for once, Benrey had frozen up and was barely breathing. Gordon hypothesized that it was just some weird alien thing and continued. It took a few attempts as Benrey appeared to have no interest in helping him, but Gordon managed to fix it so the former guard looked slightly presentable (he even adjusted his jacket so it didn’t look like it was going to fall off at any moment).

“There, now you look… Descent.”

“Uhhh…”

Gordon caught a glimpse of Benrey’s face and noticed his mouth was agape and his eyes widened. He followed Benrey’s gaze and realized it landed on Joshua. Joshua didn’t seem to notice the pale-skinned man’s discomfort and was actively trying to reach out and grab his nose. Gordon swiftly took back his son and tried to entertain him by bouncing him up and down.

“Ah, sorry,” Gordon apologized. “Hey, Joshie, you need to learn to keep your hands to yourself.”

Benrey was still surprisingly silent, causing Gordon to look up to see he was slowly flexing and unflexing his hands with that surprised expression still plastered on his face.

“Uh, you good? You gonna call me gay or something?” Gordon asked.

“...Yoooooo, what the fuuuuuuuck.” Benrey whispered. “Hoooooooow… How are they so soooooooft?”

“...Are you talking about Joshua?” Gordon said, motioning towards the baby.

“Yeah! Fuck are they made out of? Chocobo feathers?”

“No, babies are just like that dude.” Gordon couldn’t resist cracking a small smile at Benrey’s newfound knowledge.

“Dude… I want, like, thirty of them.”

“Hell no, you’d probably kill them all by giving them Mountain Dew.” 

Benrey frowned and stuck his tongue out as Gordon walked past him. 

“Dick.”

“Asshole.” the other man replied.

The two entered into the main room of the banquet hall, the one in which the lovely couple would be wed.

To say it was minimal would be correct, but everything appeared to be so plain, which was a surprise coming from the two most chaotic people Gordon knew (Benrey didn’t count, Benrey was just a nuisance). Green and sky blue balloons had been made and were hovering above the rows of white chairs set up for guests. A red carpet had been laid out that led straight to a white wedding arch that had been decorated with green and blue streamers and various types of science stickers. The window blinds had been taped to the sides, allowing fresh golden sunlight to flood the building. It was quaint, yet Gordon liked it. Benrey seemed to not care, as he just grunted, and walked over to one of the open chairs in the far back. He almost collapsed into the chair and stretched out his legs as far as he could.

“Could you at least  _ try  _ to look like you’re interested.” Gordon frowned.

Benrey yawned, rubbed one of his eyes, then looked at Gordon. “Nope.”

The physicist groaned. “Thought so.”

The wedding, surprisingly, went through without little issue. Tommy and Darnold helped a panicking Bubby down the aisle as he was yelling that it was a mistake (“HE DOESN’T  _ REALLY  _ LOVE ME!” “D-Don’t say th-that, Bubby!”) and helped take care of Joshua as his father stood next to the groom as best man. He, at one point, had to lean in to try and stop Bubby from shaking.

“You look like an emaciated twig, dude, you have to calm down,” Gordon whispered.

“I’m going to kill  _ you _ , then  _ everyone  _ in this room.” Bubby hissed back. 

The G-Man, as the officiate, preached to the measly few people on how everyone was so happy to see the union of the pair getting married and all that jazz. Honestly, Gordon zoned out towards the middle because it felt like the G-Man was reading from a script or something. Things got more interesting when Dr. Coomer appeared. He seemed to have tried to style his hair and put on some type of makeup because everyone seemed to be amazed at his appearance with even Benrey interested. It made Bubby stop shaking, but it also made it freeze up entirely. When it was finally time to say their personalized vows, Gordon had to sharply nudge Bubby to get him to start talking. Bubby ended up making up his vows on the spot because he kept stumbling over his words while reading off his note cards. Despite it seeming like a horrible idea, Coomer seemed to appreciate the heart to heart and gave his speech as tears welled up in both of their eyes. When they kissed, everyone cheered and immediately rushed to the new couple to celebrate. Food was served not long after and, with the help of some of the banquet's staff, the crew all moved to the decorated outdoor pavilion to eat. The newlywed couple couldn’t stop chatting and laughing, much to the joy of the rest of the group. Coomer was especially pleased as he wouldn’t let go of Bubby’s hand.

“This must be the greatest wedding ever!” he claimed, resting his head on Bubby’s shoulder. “Nothing could ever top this!”

“Was your last wedding that bad?” Gordon teased, referencing Coomer’s ex-wife.

“ _ We Don’t Speak About  _ **_ That _ ** .”

With that, ex-wives weren’t mentioned again. The mood lighted considerably once some romantic music started to play on the overhead speakers. Tommy began to flap his hands with joy.

“I-I know this song!”

Darnold stood up and outstretched his hand with a slight bow. “Shall we?”

Tommy let out a loud gasp and instantly allowed himself to be swept up by his boyfriend. Bubby and Coomer, not willing to be left out of the fun, decided to join in. Laughter and dancing filled the pavilion and Gordon was more than happy to watch. Joshua, with all his might, was trying to watch the merriment in front of him, was slowly falling asleep. 

“They have  _ so  _ much energy un-until... It all crashes d-down.”

Gordon peeked over his shoulder to see that the G-Man was casually sitting behind him. He was nursing a Sunkist soda in one hand while the other was clutching his briefcase.

“Yeah. Are you leaving already?” Gordon inquired.

“I-If you’re asking for a… Uh…  _ Dance _ , I will have to d-decline.” G-Man teased good-naturedly.

Gordon let out a chuckle. “I’m afraid I’m not too interested in dancing.”

“Well, to answer your…  _ Question _ , no, not yet. We w-will have to le-leave soon, though. My E-Employers are getting… Antsy.” 

Gordon didn’t like the idea of the G-Man’s employers getting upset, judging by how important G-Man made them out to be, so he just nodded. “All of us are happy you were able to officiate it.”

“I-It was no trouble  _ but _ I do h-have one la-last request for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Your…  _ Companion _ , Benrey, ran off. I-I don’t tru-trust him to be a-alone so can you…”

Gordon sighed. Of course, it’d have something to do with the alien gamer. He glanced over at the others, hoping to see if they weren’t busy so they could babysit Joshua while he searched. The others, however, were too busy with their dances to notice either Gordon or the G-Man.

“I could  _ watch  _ over young J-Joshua, for… You, Mr. Freeman.” the G-Man offered, noticing Gordon’s gaze.

Gordon, with no options left, passed over his half-asleep son over to the interdimensional businessman and walked back into the building. The banquet hall’s employees seemed to have started to take down most of the decorations, as seen with the remains of the balloons thrown into a large wheeled garbage bin and the chairs being folded and placed on one side of the room. He walked through the hallways, hoping to catch a glimpse of the helmet-wearing weirdo. He almost gave up hope until he noticed one of the employee room’s doors were open. Gordon would’ve walked past it had he not noticed Benrey’s sunken form in one of the chairs inside. His head was resting against the cheaply wallpapered wall with his jacket lazily tossed onto the floor, revealing a white dress shirt underneath. What Gordon realized first was not his jacket or how he was sitting, but how the color was returning to his skin. Like small trickles of water, the blue skin tone was returning and pooling in certain spots of his skin. His eyes were no different with the yellow sclera returning and a dash of red with his normal dark eye color. Gordon knocked on the door’s wooden frame to get his attention. Benrey perked up at the noise. He tried to grab the jacket but it was too far away. Gordon raised his hands defensively.

“Hey man, the weddings over so I’m not gonna judge.”

Benrey didn’t try to make another attempt at grabbing the jacket, but he didn’t let his gaze wander away from Gordon as he leaned back in his metal chair. He rested his elbow on the metal table next to him and then laid his cheek on top of his fist.

“Lemme guess, lil’ baby Feetman gonna come to scold me. Say I look like shit. Like his son.”

“Don’t bring my son into this,” Gordon warned.

“Whatever.” Benrey rolled his eyes. “Who made you bring me back? G-Dude? The lovebirds? Tommy?”

Gordon’s heart sank. Was it really that obvious he came due to someone else’s will.

“It was Mr. Coolatta.” Gordon explained. “He wanted me to find you.”

“Of course. G-Dude has it out for me. He gotta have that Benrey live stream 24/7, you know. Bet he’s the head of my fan-site.” Benrey scoffed.

“To be fair, you did try to kill us and his son. He has a right to be angry at you.” Gordon retorted, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, buuuuuuuut you guys made me baaaaaaad so I had to be baaaaaaad. It’s all in the code.”

“The co- what?”

Benrey’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. “You don’t know the code. Man, aren’t you a scientist? Shouldn’t you know about, like, the IRL code that deals about IRL things.”

“I’m a scientist, but I’m a real scientist who deals with real science… Things.”

“Aren’t you a  _ theoretical  _ physicist, though?”

“Fuck you, dude.”

Benrey let out a series of loud, hyena-like laughter as Gordon moved into the employee/storage room. The former guard was still laughing as Gordon sat down in the chair across from him. He took a few tries, but Benrey managed to calm himself down enough to look at Gordon.

“Why are you hiding in here anyway? Thought you liked being around us.” Gordon said.

Benrey’s lip morphed into a thin white line. Gordon worried he might’ve accidentally offended Benrey, meaning that he might have to sit through one of his “pro-gamer” rants. Instead, Benrey averted his gaze.

“I mean… Do you guys?” Benrey asked seriously.

“Wha- I mean, kinda? I know Tommy likes you a lot, so does Coomer. Bubby hates being around you but Bubby hates being around anyone that isn’t Coomer so don’t worry about him.”

“What about you?”

It was Gordon’s turn to be silent. He thought about lying, but what good would that do? Benrey was always good at sniffing out the truth. Besides, lying to him now wouldn’t be good for his image. So, Gordon sighed.

“I don’t know, man. You got my arm cut off and harassed me all through Black Mesa and for what- A dick slip?!”

“And no passport.” Benrey included.

“Not helping, genius.”

With that, Benrey let out a hearty laugh. Gordon was annoyed by this, but also reassured as he sat down in the chair across from Benrey. He didn’t feel comfortable with the almost depressed aura around the man. Once Benrey stopped his fit, he let out a long exhale before looking Gordon up and down.

“Soooo… Feetman hates me?”

“No! I mean- Yes? I guess, but- Look, you’re the biggest pain in my ass but goddamn it, life would be boring without you so… Maybe?” Gordon groaned before sinking his head into his hands.

Benrey let out a huff but didn’t say anything, allowing Gordon to gather his thoughts. The latter stood up straight in his seat then looked over at Benrey.

“How’d you get that suit, anyway? Craft it with your… ‘Pro-Gamer skillz’.”

Benrey let out a sharp laugh. “Hah! Nah, Feetman, this is  _ all _ rented from the best suit place in town. Very snazzy 10/10, you dig?” 

Gordon frowned. “You…  _ Legally  _ got it.”

“I’m not a level 100 skilled thief like you, ya know,” Benrey stated. “I had my Micky D’s money help me get this wicked suit. It also has some nice buffs, like points in seduction.”

Benrey raised an eyebrow and flashed Gordon a smile. “Is it working?”

Gordon cocked his head. “You work at McDonald's?”

Benrey’s head slumped forward as he groaned. “Shoulda known you have resistance. Bummer.” He lifted his head to glare at his companion. “Yeah, I work at the ol’ Big M. Got a problem with minimum wage workers?”

Gordon raised his hands defensively. “No! Just a little… Surprised. Thought you would’ve become a mall cop or something.”

Benrey shook his head. “Naaaaah, ACAB all the way, babyyyyy. And uh… I was never meant to be a guard. Wasn’t in the script.”

“English, please.”

Benrey rolled his eyes. “Never was meant to be a security guard, bro. Kinda just snatched it away.”

“Wha- Wait, what did you mean ‘snatched it away’?” Gordon was completely lost at this point.

“Glad you asked because uh,” Benrey started. “Like, I was just chilling at my homepad when this freaky deeky portal sorta just wooshed open. Thought to myself ‘Whoooooa, I’m Chell now’ and leaped in. Sorta ended up at Black Mesa and they were askin’ for this “Barney” dude and I was like “Wow, lame name” and told them that it was the much cooler “Benrey”. They said whatever and just me a gun, passport, and ID card. Sick deal if you ask me.”

Benrey’s companion couldn’t help but stare blankly at the man. “You… You stole someone’s job  _ and  _ their name.”

“If someone was named Gordon, Feetman, would you accuse them of stealing  _ your  _ name?”

“Alright, fine, but you took someone’s job. Don’t you feel bad about that?”

“Nope.”

Gordon just scoffed. “That just goes to show how different we are.”

Benrey’s brow furrowed. “Hey, you invaded my sad zone. You waltzed up in here like some sort of cowboy and tried to take my land. What? Upset G-Dude wouldn’t dance with you so you decided to lick his boots for him?”

Gordon wasn’t even going to ask how Benrey knew of the festivities outside, so he just decided to counter his point. “I don’t even wanna dance with him. He’s my closest friend’s dad and probably would evaporate me if I even entertained the idea.”

“Shame. I was going to have a wicked date but he bailed on me to search for a job and home. 0/10, not poggers, man.”

“Who wanted to go on a date with  _ you _ ?” the scientist had to wonder.

Benrey flipped him off. “Rude. I’ll have you know I have  _ plenty  _ of wicked bros.”

“All on PSN.”

“Not true but go off, I guess.”

Gordon sighed and stood up to stretch. He popped out all the kinks in his back before outstretching his hand towards Benrey. “C’mon, loser. The night’s still young and I have another thirty minutes before Joshua demands bedtime.”

Benrey, at first, didn’t trust the hand, his emotion wasn’t hidden as his eyes flashed with concern. But the fact that Gordon didn’t lower it and his face revealed he was being genuine, Benrey took it and stood up, not forgetting to pick his jacket up off the floor.

“Yeah, let’s have fun, loser.”

The pair walked back towards the pavilion and not a single word was shared between them for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never knew how hard it would be to write G-Man until this story. Even now I'm not entirely happy on how's he's written but I'm not sure about what to do. I try to mimic his stutters and pauses but idk, maybe I'm just mad because I can't write Benrey how I want him to be written. Hope y'all enjoyed.


	6. Moving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon gets a new neighbor, someone he never expected to see again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your daily reminder that the author is neither French nor knowledgable in anything relating to children

Gordon had been alerted by his landlord that a new tenant was moving into the building. Not surprising, since the last family who lived in the apartment, in the apartment right above Gordon’s, no less, had moved out only a month ago due to them needing more space for their new baby. He had been sad to see them go, secretly because he wanted their new child to be friends with Joshua, but wished them well.

_ Let’s hope they’re not like the last new tenant  _ Gordon thought to himself, shivering at the memory of the five college students that moved into a two-bedroom apartment right on his floor. The smell had only just left the building.

Although he was excited to meet his new neighbor, Gordon wasn’t going to spend his free day waiting for the newbie to show up. Instead, he and Joshua (though Joshua was more of a supervisor) spent most of the morning setting up fall decorations and watching movies (Gordon was sure that the entire Toy Story 2 script was embedded into his brain). It was relaxing, to his surprise. Joshua had no major outbursts except when Stinky Pete appeared on screen and he decided to let out high-pitched bellows. It was around two in the afternoon when a single moving truck pulled up to the building with a beat-up Nissan Titan following close behind. Although anxious to meet them, Gordon thought it was best to wait until they were done unloading. That was until he realized his garbage can was overflowing with trash. He set Joshua down for a nap after making sure he had a fresh diaper and a snack then made his way to the dumpster. As he was walking down the first flight of stairs, he ended up smacking into someone.

“Oof! Ah, sorry!” 

“Aw, man. Bro, you ruined my score.”

Gordon’s eyes widened. Benrey was standing next to him with a disappointed look in his eyes. He was carrying a box under one arm and a PSP in the other hand. Despite the fact it was still relatively warm outside, he wore an extra-large midnight blue sweatshirt and baggy jeans. He also wore some ratty old sneakers with the laces untied. The final nail in the coffin was the helmet still placed atop his head. Gordon couldn't imagine how bad it smelled.

Benrey looked him up and down and grimaced. “Bro, you look like a fucking  _ dad _ .”

Gordon actually felt hurt by that statement. He was wearing an orange pumpkin turtleneck sweater he got from the local pumpkin patch, which was one of his favorites. Sure, the stained gray sweatpants and the Adidas slides over his socks weren’t the best combo but it was his off day. He deserved to be lazy.

“It’s my off day, prick, and what are you doing here!?” Gordon realized the answer to his question right after he asked it. “Jesus fucking Christ, no way. You’re moving in!”

Benrey stared at him blankly. “Wha?”

“The apartment! You’re moving into the apartment!” Gordon cried.

“Wha- No, I’m just helping my bro move into his new pad.” 

“Wait… You’re  _ not  _ moving in?” Gordon asked.

“That’s what I said, Feetman. You deaf or something?”

Gordon grew flushed. His neighbors probably heard him and thought he was crazy. He just awkwardly shuffled down the stairs, giving Benrey a small excuse me, and tried to leave. However, Benrey rested his hand onto Gordon’s shoulder and squeezed. Gordon awkwardly looked back to see the emotionless glare of Benrey staring back at him.

“Where’s your apartment?”

Gordon blinked. “What?”

“Your homepad? Your chill-place? Your gaming zone? Your home, Feetman, where is it.”

The scientist wasn’t too sure if giving out his address to Benrey was the smartest move. He had tried to Gordon and his friends in the past and that wound was still fresh, especially since Benrey had never formally apologized. Still, Gordon was sure that, while Benrey was still a threat, he wouldn’t harm Joshua and even if he did, Gordon knew that the entire Science Team plus G-Man and Darold would hunt the eldritch being for the rest of his days. So, Gordon sighed and decided to speak.

“It’s apartment 2H, the one at the end of the hall by the stairs to the third floor.” 

Benrey nodded, turned, and walked up the stairs. Gordon could hear the muffled sounds of video game music and sound effects as Benrey made his way to the third floor. Shaking his head, Gordon went down and outside, making sure to safely toss his garbage in the dumpster on the side of the building than going back to the safety of his apartment.

For the rest of the day, Gordon was on edge. Every shadow the entered his apartment made him jump and every sudden change caused him to flinch. He tried to occupy his mind with Disney movies, some trash science fiction novels he bought while in college, and random apps on his phone, but the fear of Benrey just popping up out of nowhere haunted him. A couple of hours passed with little to no activity, so Gordon managed to settle down slightly. 

By the time dinner rolled around, he felt comfortable enough to not be constantly looking over his shoulder. It was a little later than normal, causing Joshua to get huffy and start slapping the tray to his highchair. Gordon let out an anxious chuckle.

“Sorry, Joshie. Guess daddy isn’t the best cook, is he?”

“No!”

Gordon let out a real laugh after that.

He had set down a bowl of sliced bananas and pasta and was ready to help him eat when a hard knock echoed through the living space. Gordon froze up at the sound. He slowly stood up, not realizing that Joshua had already started to tear into his food, and made his way to the door. He opened the door and, instead of the expressionless glare of Benrey he was met with an awkward stare of a taller pale-skinned man. Although he was only an inch taller then Gordon, his wide size and muscles made Gordon feel small and weak. His dark gray tank top and jeans didn’t leave anything to the imagination either. After realizing he looked familiar, he tried to pinpoint who he was. The man, who didn’t seem that much older than Gordon, already had several layers of wrinkles and small scars that dotted his face. His hair appeared to have been in a buzzcut at one point but had already started to grow out. Although his eyes were glancing down at his combat boots, Gordon could still make out what color they were: a deep brown.

“Is this the apartment of Gordon Freeman?” the man said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Gordon perked up at the mention of his name. “Y-Yeah! That’s me.”

The man stood up straight, as if he had done that pose many times before. “I’m not sure if you remember me… Sir, but I met you in Black Mesa.”

The former’s eyes grew wide. “Black Mesa? How do you know about-”

Then Gordon realized that all he had to do was add a beret and black and white cameo gear to the guy to remember who he was.

“Forzen?!” 

The US marine, Forzen, winced at Gordon’s sudden outburst. He lowered his head considerably before talking.

“Y-Yeah, listen I just wanted to say something and go but if you’re busy-”

“You’re the one who moved in!” Gordon realized. “What? Are you here to kill me or something?”

Forzen looked genuinely hurt by this. “N-No! I had no idea you even  _ lived  _ here until Benrey told me this afternoon. I just wanna… Apologize.”

“Apologize?” Gordon asked, suspicion sneaking its way into his words.

“Yes. Apologize.” Forzen motioned towards the door. “Can I come in?”

Gordon wasn’t too sure about Forzen. While he currently looked like a shy gentle giant, Gordon also couldn’t forget the maniac gaze he had given the Science Team after kidnapping Sunkist and hearing his outlandish demands. While he wanted to slam the door in Forzen’s face and walk away, Gordon felt like he needed to give him at least one chance.  _ I gave Benrey a chance after all… _

“Fine, but don’t touch anything,” Gordon warned, swinging the door open. 

Forzen quietly stepped in and closed the door behind him. The marine’s eyes grew when he noticed Joshua. Gordon followed his gaze and it led him to learn that Joshua completely messed up his orange pumpkin shirt and his highchair tray. Gordon groaned and pressed the heels of his palm into his temple.

“Ah, shit- Joshua!”

He rushed over to the baby and immediately started to clean his face with a nearby box of wet wipes. Joshua let out happy squeaks of joy as his father gave him his full attention. Gordon had to dodge Joshua’s attempts to grab at his face, chuckling at his efforts. It took a bit longer than he expected, but he finally got Joshua cleaned enough so he could set him down on the floor next to some of his toys. Gordon’s attention was drawn back to Forzen after he realized he neglected the soldier. Forzen was just standing there with clear discomfort. Gordon motioned towards one of the stools that stood in front of his counter.

“Wanna sit down?” he offered.

Forzen nodded and pulled out the as and Gordon went to the fridge. He grabbed himself a Fanta before glancing over at Forzen.

“Want something to drink? I got OJ, milk, uh… Some soda.”

“Got anyone Pepsi?”

“Got a cherry Pepsi.”

“That’ll work, thank you.”

Gordon handed him his drink before pulling out his own seat. He cracked open the soda, took a sip, then glared at the man next to him.

“So, are you going to apologize.”

Forzen blushed and looked away. “Sorry, it’s just- I didn’t know you had a son. How old is he?”

“Joshua just turned ten months recently,” Gordon answered.

“Wow. He’s young.”

Gordon let out an affirmative grunt before taking another sip of soda. The pair was quiet for a bit with Joshua’s happy squeals and the occasional car passing by being the only sound between them. Forzen finally spoke after the silence grew too unbearable.

“I wanted to apologize for… Everything, honestly.” he started. “I practiced this multiple times yet now that I’m saying it, everything feels wrong. I’ve been trying to say this for a long time now but Benrey refused to help.”

“Benrey?” Gordon then remembered. “Oh right, you guys are friends. But what does he have to do with all of this?”

“Well, I knew that he knew you since he told me and I wanted to get in contact with you earlier but he said you didn’t wanna talk with me,” Forzen explained.

“Wha- I never said anything like that! Hell, he’s never even mentioned you.” Gordon said.

“I think he was just worried about you,” Forzen theorized, taking a long swig from his can. “I wouldn’t want to see me either after all I did.”

“Benrey? Worried? About other people?” Gordon scoffed.

“You may not like him or believe it, but Benrey does care for people… In his own way.” Forzen cleared his throat. “Anyway, I want to apologize for what I did to you at Black Mesa. I’m sorry for trying to kill you and I’m even more sorry for kidnapping that dog. This doesn’t excuse my behavior, but when I received my orders, I honestly believed I was doing the right thing but when we started actually  _ doing  _ it- the killing and the burning and the looting- I just lost it. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the face of a scientist staring back at me with such fear. Then when the aliens and your group started killing my men it…”

As Forzen spoke, he sunk farther and farther into his seat and his head dipped lower and lower. He looked like he was going to start crying. Gordon awkwardly patted the man’s back in a weak attempt to comfort him. Forzen let out a small sniffle.

“Sorry, making this all about me. Just… I can’t talk about this to anyone and I’m guessing you know why.” Forzen looked up at his new neighbor.

Gordon knew what he was talking about. It had barely been a day since he had returned home from Black Mesa when the government came knocking on his door. He had “politely encouraged” (i.e demanded) he signed a non-disclosure agreement and forced him to agree to never mention Black Mesa with anyone who wasn’t either a high ranking government official or a part of the disaster. Gordon had done so, fearing that he might’ve lost Joshua or get taken away by the government. Although they had left that same day, he was pretty sure that the government had been or was still keeping a close eye on him.

“What happened to your unit anyway?” Gordon asked.

“I’m the only survivor if that’s what you’re wondering,” Forzen explained. “But if you mean the official Hazardous Environment Combat Unit as a whole, they have never and will never exist, according to the government.”

“They wiped it?” Gordon said shocked.

Forzen nodded. “Clean. The government made sure any mention of the HECU was scrubbed clean from any public or private files. If someone even briefly mentioned something about the unit it has been erased.”

He sighed and rhythmically tapped his nails against the Pepsi can. “They took most of my stuff. The only thing I have is my beret, but they made me cut out the HECU patch and sew it up right in front of them.”

Gordon didn’t know what to say. Yeah, the agents had taken some of his stuff, but it was all lab equipment and Black Mesa property he had been given so he could do work outside of Black Mesa. But how Forzen worded it, it made it seem like he didn’t have much left.

“Listen… I’m going to be honest with you.” Gordon sighed. “I… I don’t trust you. You pulled a lot of shit back at Black Mesa and you kidnapped a dog because of Angry Video Game Nerd?”

“Angry Video Game Nerd and Irate Gamer, Chris Bores, to be exact.”

“Whatever. Just… I may not trust you, but… I gave Benrey a second chance, sorta, so… I think you deserve one as well.”

Without warning, Forzen scooped up Gordon in a bear hug similar to Coomer’s and began slipping out various versions of ‘thank you’. Joshua, finally noticing that he wasn’t getting any attention, toddled over and started to pull on his father’s pant leg. Gordon managed to pry himself off of Forzen and picked up the whining baby. 

“Okay, don’t you think you’re being dramatic?” Gordon teased, still recovering from Forzen’s overly friendly attack. Joshua answered by trying to steal his glasses. He managed to keep Joshua away long enough to ask Forzen a question. “What are you planning on doing now?”

Forzen looked down at his boots. “I have a security job at the mall. It’s boring but it pays well. I was actually thinking about moving back home.”

“Oh? Where’s that?”

“I’m from Canada. Mont-Tremblant, Québec, actually. My parents moved to the States when I was fifteen and everything kinda just fell into place. My older sister and nephew still live in Mont-Tremblant so…”

“Is that how you know French and why you wore that dumb beret?”

Forzen frowned. “It’s not dumb.”

Gordon let out a hearty laugh. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

Joshua yawned and buried his face into the crook of his father’s neck. Gordon noticed how tired he looked and sighed. “Listen, I love to talk but-”

“It’s fine! Your son’s more important. I just… Wanted to let you know how I feel.”

Gordon led his guest to the door and opened it for him. “Maybe we can chat later?”

Forzen nodded. “I can give my number sometime if you want.”

“That’s good. See ya.”

Forzen waved him off and walked up the stairs to his apartment. Gordon watched in silence for a few moments before closing the door and continuing the rest of his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to include Forzen because he honestly needs more love. He barely got any screen time in HLVRAI nor returned for the charity stream and most fanworks forget him entirely. While he won't be a major character, I thought it would be nice to give Benrey a friend that wasn't in the Science Team and that was more like him. If you guys wanna talk to me or just ask questions about "Just Dads Being Dads", my Tumblr is @swimyghost and I'm open for asks. Later!


	7. Dog Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon gets a bunch of strange texts from Tommy and rushes over to his house. There, he sees Sunkist has a surprise for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter, school and family life has been rough. I hope you enjoy this though. I included a Weird Al Yankovic reference. Lemme know if you find it. Enjoy.

Gordon was hoping Tommy was in some type of danger. He knew that sounded harsh but getting several erratic texts then one that simply read “cOME TO MY HOUSE NOW!!!!” was enough to send him panicking. Luckily, the babysitter agreed to say an extra hour or two with no extra charge (though Gordon knew he was going to pay more anyway. They were a poor college student and he related a little too much). As he sped down the highway towards his friend’s house, Gordon tried to settle his nerves.  _ It’s probably just him being dramatic.  _ He thought. Normally Gordon would just brush it off as just that, yet Tommy never got this frantic. Even during the Resonance Cascade, Tommy managed to keep some form of his composure. 

_ Something is  _ clearly  _ up _ . Gordon thought, making the turn into Tommy’s neighborhood.

The Coolatta house was so stereotypical it made Gordon wanna roll his eyes every time he saw it. It was a baby blue two-story home with pure white shutters and a picket fence that wrapped around the house. In the solid colored driveway was a jet black station wagon with an obnoxiously orange van parked next to it. He made his way to the front door, careful with the freshly cut lawn, and was surprised to see who answered the door when he knocked. Instead of the usual propeller hat-wearing homeowner, it was a dark-skinned man with a lab coat hanging around his waist.

“Darnold?” Gordon was more than a little surprised.

Darnold wiped his hands on his orange turtleneck and offered one of his hands to Gordon. “Hello, Mr. Freeman! Sorry for my appearance, I just finished my shift.”

Gordon didn’t want to be rude, but he could tell that the usually well-kept man had rushed himself over here just like he did. His usually slicked back hair was now a mess of tight curls and his lab coat, from what Gordon could see, had many stains dotted across it. The physicists merely smiled.

“It’s fine, and I told you to call me ‘Gordon’.”

Darnold nervously chuckled. “Sorry, I’m-I’m still trying to use to being less… Formal around my colleagues.”

Gordon glanced over Darnold’s shoulder, trying to sneak a peek in the house. Darnold noticed. “You’re looking for Tommy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Gordon admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “I was able to go home when he just spammed texted me a bunch of cryptic nonsense and keyboard smashes.”

“You didn’t get to change either, I see,” Darnold commented, pointing at Gordon’s white button-down and black slacks that were nearly covered by his overly long white lab coat. Gordon felt himself glow red.

“Y-Yeah. Hey, wait, do you know why we’re here?”

Darnold furrowed his brow and attempted to explain but just sighed and good-naturedly rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s best if you see for yourself.”

He led the still bewildered man into the home and made sure to close the door behind him. Gordon’s discomfort grew as he entered the home. It didn’t matter how many times he stepped into the home, he still felt unsettled by the pristineness. Not even dust floated in the sunny rays that filtered through the windows. Darnold suggested that Gordon put his lab coat on the coat rack, but Gordon, not scared to let anything he owned out of his sight in a house containing an eldritch being, declined profusely. Darnold just shrugged and escorted Gordon into the 60s style kitchen. The checkered floor was, surprisedly, covered into blanketed, dog toys, and dog food. Cabinets were also wide open with many of their utensils strewn on the counter. Despite the unusual clutter that surrounded him, Gordon was more focused on the crouched form of his friend. Gordon could make out that the vague outline of Sunkist was in front of him.

“Tommy!” he called.

Tommy turned around and Gordon was met with thick black bags that hung under Tommy’s excited gaze. When he ran over to hug Gordon, Gordon couldn’t help but fix the crooked propeller hat that sat on his head.

“O-Oh, M-Mr. Fr-Freeman! I’m so gl-glad you’re h-here!”

“What’s the matter, buddy? Did something happen?” Gordon immediately asked, concerned for his friend’s safety.

“W-Well, so-something did happen, Fre- M-Mr. Freeman! B-But it’s a-a good th-thing!”

Taking Gordon’s arm, Tommy dragged him over to Sunkist. Sunkist lifted her tired head and lumped her tail against the pile of blankets she laid on. Gordon didn’t realize why she needed so many blankets until his gaze reached her stomach. 

Seven tiny golden forms were arranged neatly next to Sunkist’s stomach. Soft whelping sounds echoed from them when they woke up to the sound of Gordon’s gasp. Sunkist gently nosed the puppies closer towards her so they could drink. Although she was a dog, Gordon could still make out the motherly warmness in her gaze.

“Pretty uh… Fucking sick, ain’t it, bro?”

Gordon jolted upwards and to his side. He hadn’t noticed him when he entered the room, but a familiar figure was sitting on the kitchen table. A familiar baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt wearing, helmet having, gremlin slouch over a PSP, face.

“Jesus, Benrey.” Gordon groaned. “Why are you here?”

The clear disdain in the man’s voice wasn’t lost on Benrey, who scowled in retaliation. “Hey, man, I wanted to uh,” he smacked his lips and snapped his fingers a couple of times. “To uh… See the pupperos. Cute lil’... Things.”

“A-And he’s o-our fr-friend, M-Mr. Freeman!” Tommy added. “I-I believe that ev-everyone d-deserves to see Su-Sunkist’s pup-puppies!”

“Well, why didn’t you invite Dr. Coomer and Bubby? And who’s the dad?” Gordon asked. He felt sorry for the poor people that owned the baby-daddy to Sunkist’s puppies.

_ I don’t even want to imagine what G-Man might do if he finds them. _

“Well, I know that Dr. Coomer and Dr. Bubby is still on their honeymoon,” Darnold explained. “Last I heard they were visiting The Biggest Ball of Twine.”

“In Minnesota.” Benrey butted in, not looking up from his PSP.

“A-And th-there i-isn’t a dad! Sunkist did i-it all o-on he-her own!” Tommy beamed.

Gordon wasn’t even going to question how that worked. Benrey was farther away from the other’s, something Gordon noticed after spending a while cooing over the puppies. He turned to the hunched figure and was immediately struck by his sharp yellow gaze. His heart lurched in his chest and he had to pause before speaking.

“Why are you sitting over there?”

“Huh? Wha?”

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“The table. Why are you sitting on it?” Gordon motioned towards Darnold, Tommy, and himself. “You can’t exactly see that well from over here.”

“Especially with your short stature!” Darnold teased.

Tommy gasped and playfully hit Darnold’s arm. Benrey looked less than amused and pouted. “Broooo… You’re so mean… Not meaner then Feetman, though. Feetman is hella mean.”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Just get over here.”

“I can’t.”

“What?”

Benrey started to play with the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. “Jus’... Not wanna be a baaaaaad touch bro. Do wanna, hurt.”

Gordon blinked a few times. Benrey was…  _ Worried _ . His suspicions were confirmed when Benrey belted out a trail of Sweet Voice.

“A t-tawny br-brown followed q-quickly b-by a rush of ru-ruby means I a-am… I-I’m in a w-worry!” Tommy translated.

“The Tom-Man really be spillin’ the Ben-Man’s secrets. Woooow… I’m hurt.” Benrey said.

“You’re fine, you freak.” Gordon rolled his eyes and outstretched his hand. “Don’t worry. Sunkist and I will make sure you don’t do anything too rough. Right, Sunkist?” 

Sunkist let out a soft  _ bork  _ and wagged her tail.

Benrey hesitated, but slipped off the table and took Gordon’s hand. His lips peeled back into a toothy smirk.

“Heh… Gaydon Feetman.”

“Fuck off, loser.”

The four sat around the puppies, ogling at their small forms. Benrey seemed very interested in the biggest one. He poked it’s rear and winced as it wiggled and let out a squeak. 

“Uhhhh… Chonky boy here. Watch out. Gonna swallow you whole.” Benrey commented. He reached out and stroked the puppy with his long fingernail.

“Have you named any of them?” Gordon asked Tommy.

Tommy nodded. “One! I named th-this one O-OSHA!” He pointed to a puppy that was smaller the most of the others. “I-I w-wanted ev-everyone to g-get a ch-chance to name th-them. I-I asked Sunkist and sh-she said she w-was okay w-with it.”

“Really? Wow.” Gordon couldn’t help but feel honored.

“I named this one Powerade.” Darnold gently stroked the back of the runt of the litter.

“Such a…  _ Harsh _ name for such a small… Thing.” Benrey glanced at the puppy. “It better not try to get me.”

Tommy looked genuinely offended. “P-Powerade would ne-never try such a thing!”

“Alright, I guess it’s my turn to name one, right?” Gordon cut in. He really didn’t want to have to deal with two of his most childish friends fighting.

“O-Oh, right.” Tommy cleared his throat and smiled. “J-Just ch-choose a puppy, Mr. F-Freeman.”

Gordon scanned the puppies. They all looked so perfect, just like their mother, and they were all so small, just like how Joshua was. He couldn’t help but tear up at the memory of holding his son for the first time. 

_ There is no greater feeling… _

“Hey, Earth to Feetman.”

Gordon snapped back to reality and was met with Benrey’s intense, yet uncaring, stare. He shook his head a little and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“S-Sorry… Uh.”

He pointed to the puppy next to the large one Benrey had been petting earlier. “I’ll name this one Fanta. You know, to keep up the soda naming convention.”

Tommy ‘oo-ed’ at the name with Darnold nodding in agreement. Benrey snorted. “Lame. Lameo name. IGN rates it a 2.4 outta 10. My turn, huh? Right? Please and thank you, Tommy.”

“Y-Yeah, y-you can go, Ben-Benrey!” Tommy said, not noticing Gordon’s face of disgust.

Benrey slowly turned back to the puppies. He reached out and gingerly poked the large one’s rear again and grinned. “Big Chungus.”

The group went silent. 

“Big Chungus?” Darnold and Gordon echoed, the former being confused and the latter saying it out of exacerbation.

“He’s a lil’ chonky boy. Has all this chub chub. Chubby Baby Boy.” Benrey smirked, petting Big Chungus.

“I-I think i-it’s a ni-nice name.” Tommy grinned. Gordon couldn’t help but groan and bury his face in his hands.

“I just hope this memory fades when I’m older,” Gordon muttered. 

“Mem- Oh! I-I promised D-Dad I-I’d take ph-photos!” Tommy up a little too quickly, nearly tripping over Gordon and Darnold. The taller man grabbed ahold of Darnold’s arm and dragged him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. This left only Benrey and Gordon in the room with a now sleeping Sunkist. The pair glanced over at each other before Gordon whipped his head away.

“Big Chungus? Really?”

“It fits.” Benrey shrugged.

“It’s a meme from 2018. A  _ dead  _ meme from 2018, mind you.”

“Does a meme really die when it’s… Born on the internet?” Benrey asked, licking his bottom lip and smacking it.

“I- I mean, I dunno. Man, you’re too confusing.” Gordon replied.

Benrey just let out a gravelly laugh. Gordon snorted at the sound and tried to cover his mouth. Benrey heard the sound and his grin grew wider.

“Ol’ Feetman is enjoying my company? Top Ten Rare Finds, Number Six Will Shock You!” 

“You’re a fucking idiot, that’s what I think.” Gordon shoved Benrey, but as much as he tried, his goofy grin wouldn’t disappear.

“Guess we need a Top Five Gaydon Rudeman Moments,” Benrey said.

“I’m bi, dude, not gay, get it right if you’re gonna try to insult me.” Gordon turned away from Benrey and back to the puppies. He crossed his legs so he could sit more comfortably. Benrey copied him and started to stroke Big Chungus once more.

“Was Baby Feetman this small?” Benrey said after a few minutes of silence.

“Wha- Joshua? Well, no he was about this big,” Gordon raised his hands to show Benrey. “Small for a human but much bigger than these babies.” He used his pointer finger to stroke the back of Fanta.

“...What was he like?” 

Gordon looked over at Benrey. He was looking at the scientist with cat-like eyes filled with wonder. Gordon scratched at his cheek. “Well… Um… He was a fussy baby. He’d wake up to the littlest of sounds. Well, Joshie still does even now but it was  _ suuuuper  _ bad as a newborn. He also took the most rancid of shits.”

Benrey scrunched up his nose. “Ew, the fuck?”

“You asked!” Gordon yelled though he wasn’t completely serious with the anger behind it. “Anyway, despite all his stinkiness, bad napping habits, and many  _ many  _ sleepless nights.” 

He looked down at the puppies. A warm smile crawled onto his face. “I’d do it all over again. I love Joshua and… Just being there for him is so great. I mean being a dad is great in general but… Seeing his little face light up in the morning when he sees me is the best.”

“...I wish I could experience something like that.” 

Gordon whipped his head around in shock. “What?”

Before Benrey could reply, Gordon’s phone alerted him to a text message. Gordon groaned and stood up. “Sorry, I need to take this. I think it’s Joshua’s babysitter.”

“Wait, bro-” Benrey reached his hand out.

“I’ll be back. Calm down.”

Benrey closed his mouth and dropped his hand onto his lap. He let out a snort before turning his attention to his once pocketed PSP. Gordon stared at him for a few moments before stepping just directly outside of the kitchen.

Expecting it just to be Joshua’s babysitter, Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone without little care. Instead, his heart sank into his stomach. He let out a loud gasp before stumbling backward into a wall. His knees felt weak and his breathing became labored as he just read one simple text.

** [Erica] **

** I want to see him again, Gordon. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the angst starts coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and it don't stop coming and-
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Please comment and tell me how you feel! My Tumblr is @swimyghost so don't be afraid to send me message! Bye!


End file.
